Here's a vote against endorsements

Nearly three dozen pastors on Sunday took a stand against IRS rules that bar churches from endorsing political candidates from the pulpit. The pastors want to change federal laws that strip churches (and other nonprofits) of their tax-exempt status if they endorse particular candidates.

The pastors believe the restrictions put a muzzle on people of faith and hinder their influence in American politics. Their argument: Christians need to be told which candidates hold a "biblical worldview."

That assumes that one candidate or one party has a monopoly on such a worldview. (Seeing as how the Gospel was used to support slavery in the 1860s and oppose it in the 1960s, that worldview might be up for some interpretation.)

People of faith are called to live out their faith in the political arena (along with the workplace, the home, the church, etc.) They do so by reflecting upon Scripture, appealing to reason, evaluating human experience, and relying on the broad tradition of the Christian church. Not to mention by praying: for discernment about how to live faithfully in the modern world.

That's not easy to do. But if clergy believe they need to endorse a particular candidate, is it that parishioners can't be trusted to figure it out on their own?

As the church, wouldn't it be better to help our congregations learn how to openly and faithfully discuss and pray over complex issues, rather than adding to the spin of partisan oversimplification?